Building new houses

North Kesteven District Council, and its predecessors, have built council homes for people in need of quality affordable housing for many years. Over time, design, style and standards of thermal performance have changed greatly.

  • From 1953 large houses built to the Parker Morris spatial standards were constructed.
  • The 1960s and the modern thinking for high-rise inspired three-storey, centrally heated blocks.
  • A big building programme of 200 properties a year, in the 1970s and 80s, saw modern standards for full gas central heating, 4 inches of loft insulation and cavity wall insulation.

At its peak North Kesteven District Council had more than 5,500 houses in its stock, which dropped to 3,800 through ‘Right to Buy’.

In 1983 the Government placed a moratorium on local authority building and over the next 25 years, NKDC worked with housing associations giving its land away free to benefit from tenancy nomination rights.

In 2009 NKDC was at the forefront when Government allowed local authorities to start building once again; pioneering the first council houses built from straw as one of its very first projects. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) funded 50% of this initial project and has since gone on to provide NKDC with over £3 million in grants for new build projects.

The provision of comfortable, quality homes remains a strong priority for the Council, with ambitious plans to create many more houses for people who need a home across the District and to continue to build them in an innovative, energy efficient way to NK’s exacting standards so that they are easy and affordable to live in.

200 New Homes in North Kesteven

In a new era of house building North Kesteven District Council built 100 homes between 2009 and end of 2014. By the end of 2016 had completed its 200th Council house for people in need of quality, affordable housing in the district.

The number of properties in NK had reduced to 3,800 through the ‘Right to Buy’ when the Government allowed local authorities to start building again. In 2015 the Council was leading the field in replacing those sold properties.

New ways of building

The Council has been proactive and innovative in building methods, design and the development of the NK Fabric First standard. Our new properties include award winning curved houses, and nominations for Building Excellence award for best social housing. Having first built innovative straw houses the Council progressed to a pair of Passivhaus to provide high level of thermal efficiency. At Newfield Road, Sleaford a pair of off-site constructed steel framed, fully fitted properties are being trialled as a way of delivering new homes in the future.

The Council’s priority now is to promote housing growth that meets the current and emerging needs of North Kesteven. In order to drive forward housing delivery in the district, the Council has established three different delivery avenues to take this priority forward:

  • The Housing Revenue Account (provision of social housing) will provide properties for affordable rent
  • Lafford Homes, the Council’s, wholly owned, housing company, to provide properties for market rent
  • The Council will begin to build homes for open market sale